Happy Birthday Carol

As the day comes to an end...the day being Carol's 50th Birthday...I thought I would share a thought with you all.

Something Carol said to me the other day really hit home and made me realize even more a decision I made a while back was indeed a good one. When I decided to open a store I had a dream...a vision in mind and I started out with a partner that just didn't work out.I also had a dear friend that I was trying to help out by giving her a job...but that didn't work out either. They just didn't get it. I didn't just want a store ...I wanted a place where friends could come and chat and share what they do best...SCRAP...I also want to teach everyone what I have learned in the thirteen years that I have been paper crafting. Face it!...I have already tried all the products...made all the mistakes and have tubs and bins full of the stuff I wish I would have never spent money on. I want to show you all how products work and all the things you can do with what you already have. And I want to be able to offer you the products I feel are the best available at a reasonable price.
BUT...I don't want just customers...I want friends. I have so many wonderful customers all over the world and I talk to many, many of them. They are all so sweet and so interesting.

Ok...let me get back to my thought. After my partner flopped and my girlfriend took a hike I picked my butt up off the floor and started over. First I had to dig myself out of the mess left by the ex-partner. Carol was working for her at the time and just doing some Ebay listings for me here and there. As I got rolling again I asked Carol to do a few more things. Little by little things started to come together and I thought maybe...just maybe I will see my dream come true. A month or two had gone by and I was asking Carol for help with some other things and to my surprise most of it had already been done by the time I woke up in the morning. It was so refreshing ...Carol knew how to do so much...and I didn't have to teach her or drag her around with me and tell her what all the different things are. There is so much more to this story but I am giving you the condensed version. After just starting over and having to rebuild the store I couldn't really afford to pay Carol much for the work she was doing...and that was when the light went on!!! I asked her if she wanted to help build this project into something really fun and really great. She jumped at the chance and dug her heels in and we both have been working very hard to see this come to life. I took her to the CHA with me and we had a blast! But more than that we worked so well together and really focused on what we needed to order and get done at the show. Little by little I am realizing that I made a good decision asking Carol to share this dream with me.

Yes...I'm getting to the point of my story. Well she and I have been working together since a little before Christmas. I love having someone to bounce around ideas with and to talk over the things that pop up. We talk a little about what we want to do but I never have really told her my dream...Then the other day...out of the blue... Carol says... " I don't just want a store...I want a community...a family. I want to know all our customers and have a place where we can all chat and have fun." OMG!!!! she gets it!!!! Remember...I said I have a dream?? I almost fell on the floor! She truly has the same vision...the same goal..It made my heart melt and more than anything....made me realize I had made a very,very good decision asking Carol to be my sidekick...just two gals having fun...

Happy Birthday my friend,
Big Hug,
B